


Important Conversations

by GreySkyye



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Developing Relationship, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 03:53:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13332939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreySkyye/pseuds/GreySkyye
Summary: Everyone else always wanted to talk about Kuro and Kenma's friendship. Friends, family, teammates-no one seemed to understand it without explanation. But Kuro and Kenma never need to talk about it with each other; they've always known where they are with each other and they're fine wherever they end up. No words necessary.Or: The only two conversations Kuro and Kenma ever have about their relationship; the one at the beginning and the one at the beginning of forever. And all the times people have wanted them to talk about it in between.Or: The story of how one overture of friendship starts a slow slide into something beyond words.





	Important Conversations

**Author's Note:**

> I have used the underage warning for this, but honestly I have no idea how explicit I'll get between them before they turn 18. I figured better safe than sorry with it though.

_ Thunk. _

 

The solid smack of the ball against the skin of Tetsuro’s forearms was reassuring. Even if he didn’t hit it quite squarely and his pass to himself didn’t go straight up in the air as intended. He followed the arc of the ball with his eyes and shifted quickly to get in position to receive it again.

 

_ Thunk. _

 

Each hit was like a shockwave, impact radiating out from the red, tender flesh where the ball connected through sore arm muscles and tired shoulders. He hadn’t been paying attention to how long he’d been out here, but it had to be well over an hour he’d been hitting the ball up in the air over and over. It stung. Every time his skinny little arms made contact with the ball it stung worse and worse. His arms still weren’t stinging as much as his eyes though. But he wasn’t thinking about that. The not thinking about it was the reason he was out here in the first place.

 

_ Thunk. _

 

The sound rang in his ears. It was a sound Tetsuro loved more than most - the sound of a volleyball thudding against a hand or an arm perfectly. The corner of his mouth twitched up slightly in satisfaction as that sound washed over him again. It had been fourteen bumps since he’d let one hit the ground. The steady  _ thunk, thunk _ was the sound of victory. Yet it couldn’t overpower the other noise barrelling around in his memory clamoring for his attention.

 

Logically, he knew his parents weren’t being loud enough to be heard while he was all the way in the backyard, but Tetsuro still felt like he could hear every sharply cutting word they were no doubt still flinging at each other. His mother had told him once, after she’d promised him there were no monsters lurking in the shadowed corners of his bedroom, that imagination was often worse than reality. Tetsuro didn’t have to imagine the argument taking place inside the house though; they never said anything he hadn’t heard before.

 

_ Swoosh. _

 

Ugh. He missed that one; he’d been distracted. Gritting his teeth against the frustration (and the stupid,  _ babish  _ urge to cry) he tottered after the still rolling ball. He bent to scoop it up, planning to resume his solitary practice, when soft noises grabbed his attention. The boy that lived next door was sitting on the bench near the border between their yards poking at some sort of handheld gaming device that let out faint beeps and chimes at irregular intervals.

 

Tetsuro grabbed his ball and stood up straight. He’d never spoken to the boy, didn’t even know his name or how old he was. He wasn’t old enough to go to school like Tetsuro himself was, but he didn’t look  _ that _ much younger, around five, maybe? Some impulse made Tetsuro step closer to where the other boy was sitting and call out a greeting that sounded more confident than he felt at the moment. “Hey.”

 

The attention of a pair of bright gold eyes flickered up from his game to Tetsuro’s face for the briefest of moments before lowering again. “Hey,” he responded in a quiet voice.

 

If any of the other kids he was friends with at school had reacted to Tetsuro that way, he’d have thought they were intentionally avoiding talking to him, but something about the careful blankness of this boy’s expression made him think that conclusion wasn’t quite right this time. He let his mouth pull into an easy grin, as if he’d gotten a much more enthusiastic response. “I’m Kuroo Tetsuro.”

 

There was nothing in response except more game noises for a few agonizing moments, but Tetsuro had the feeling that if he just kept waiting it would be worth it. Like that time he’d held his hand out to a stray cat for so long it had been shaking with exhaustion by the time the scruffy thing had finally butted its forehead against his fingers.

 

There was another quick flash of those gold eyes, and then, “Kozume.” Another few heartbeats of silence. “Kenma.”

 

Tetsuro let out a relieved sigh and let his grin stretch even wider. But just like that time with the stray cat, Tetsuro knew that patience wouldn’t be the only thing he needed now; restraint and caution were also in order. Slow and easy; no sudden moves at all. “Can I watch you play your game?”

 

The wait was longer this time, but again, Tetsuro’s patience bore fruit. Kozume didn’t say anything, just shifted position so there was enough room to sit next to him on the bench.

 

The only expression of his excitement Tetsuro would allow himself was to tighten his grip on his volleyball as he ambled over and folded himself onto the bench next to Kozume. They didn’t talk or do anything else for quite a while after that, but that was okay. Watching Kozume’s fingers jab buttons and work his way through the game in the quiet was surprisingly relaxing for Tetsuro. 

 

Eventually, Tetsuro asked, too curious to hold the question back any longer, “do you know anything about volleyball?”

 

“No.” Kozume’s answer came much faster this time.

 

Warmed by the less hesitant response, Tetsuro smiled. “That’s okay. It’s my favorite thing, so I know a lot about it. I can show you.”

 

Kozume’s gaze darted from his screen to where Tetsuro sat and then away. “Okay,” he whispered.

 

Bolstered by the agreement, Tetsuro decided to be just a little bolder. “Awesome. It’s good for friends to share the things they like with each other.”

 

Kozume didn’t look up at all, and his “yes,” was quiet but pleased sounding. He angled his gaming device a little more so that Tetsuro had a better view of the screen.

 

Tetsuro unveiled his brightest grin of the day and fell back into silence to watch Kozume play. That was all the confirmation he needed that this was the start of something really good.

 

That night, when his parents started arguing in his dream, distracting him during the big, important volleyball match, video game music swelled in the background to drown them out and every time he made a sick block a level-up symbol popped up right next to his head. For the first time in a long time, he woke up the next morning feeling well-rested and excited for the coming day.


End file.
